Afghanistan peace is essential for region's stability:Iran

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi reaffirmed Iran's commitment to work towards assisting in restoring peace in Afghanistan and said that region's stability is integrated and that threat of terrorism still persists.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi reaffirmed Iran's commitment to work towards assisting in restoring peace in Afghanistan and said that the region's stability is integrated and that threat of terrorism still persists. "Araghchi stated that security in the region is an integrated concept and it can be said, without exaggeration, that peace and stability in Afghanistan guarantee peace and stability in Iran," the Iranian official said while speaking at an event titled "Perspectives on Afghanistan-Iran Relations: Challenges, Opportunities," organized by the Afghan Institute of Strategic Studies in Kabul

Referring to the "Comprehensive Document of Strategic Cooperation between Iran and Afghanistan" he elaborated on how the document has been set up in five committees. Araghchi added that Iran's goal with this 'comprehensive' document is to find common ground for cooperation with Afghanistan in all these areas.

Addressing the fundamental principles set out in the document, he emphasized the issues of non-interference in each other's affairs, non-aggression, and preventing the use of each other's territory to attack and invade other countries. He called for a broader sense of inclusivity in the peace process in Afghanistan. He also reinforced the need to accept the firm presence of the Taliban in the country and labeled them as an indispensable party to the process. He called them a 'reality'.

Araghchi said: "If we had not crushed Daesh in Syria, then we would have had to fight them on the streets of Tehran and Kabul." Araghchi also met Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the High Council for National Reconciliation, and the two sides discussed the Afghan peace process and bilateral relations.

"Araghchi thanked the High Council for National Reconciliation and pledged continued cooperation of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Afghanistan and to the peace process," Abdullah's office said in a statement. "The two sides announced peace and stability in Afghanistan in the interest of peace in the region and in the world," the statement said.

The Afghan Peace Deal was reached in February between the US and the Taliban. The US pledged to pull out its remaining troops from the country in a staggered manner and the Taliban undertook to prevent Al- Qaeda from using Afghan territory to conduct terrorist activities. 

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